North Lima - The South Range Raiders continue to keep pace with the Crestview Rebels for first place in the ITCL Upper Tier with a dominating 55-20 victory Friday night over Mineral Ridge. The win pushes the Raiders record to 5-2, 4-0 in the league, and keeps their playpff hopes alive in Region 17.

The Raiders rode the arm of their senior quarterback Ross Stoffer who completed 8 of 11 passes for 162 yards and four touchdowns. He also added a rushing touchdown.

"It always feels good, but it feels great knowing you have linemen that are going to give you time, and receivers that are going to catch the ball. That's the best feeling of all," Stoffer said.

"It always feels good running the ball," he added about the rushing touchdown. "Handing the ball off and passing the ball is fun, but running it is fun too."

The victory also marked the 150th victory for Raiders Head Coah Dan Yeagley. "It' so special," Stoffer explained. "I mean there have been a lot of great teams come thru here, and it's great to be part of the history and do it for coach."

The Raiders jumped out early and often in the contest as Stoffer ran in from 10-yards out on the Raiders second possession with 4:33 remaining in the first stanza.

The Raiders would then find the endzone on their next three possessions on touchdown passes from Stoffer. The first was a 19-yard scoring strike to senior wide out Robert Seman. Then he would hit halfback Billy Goodall on a 15-yard pass in the right corner of the end zone. And finally, he would connect with senior halfback Jake Arsuffi on a 42-yard throw and run to give the Raiders a commanding 28-0 halftime lead.

The Raiders would strike again to start the second half when Stoffer would once again find Seman in the end zone. This time it was a 16-yard pass with 8:21 remaining in the third quarter.

The Rams would not give up as they would score on their next possession when senior running back Casey Porter ran around right end for a 19-yard touchdown. The score made it 35-7 with 4:18 left in the quarter.

However, the Raiders would stike back quickly as Arsuffi returned the kickoff 25-yards, and a personal fould was called on the Rams. With the ball at the Rams 36-yard line, the Raiders Goodall raced down the right sideline 36-yards on the next play to push the Raiders lead to 42-7.

Mineral Ridge added a touchdown run by junior running back Devine Redding from 3-yards out to make it 42-14. The tally came just 45 seconds into the fourth quarter.

The Raiders would add two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter by reserves, and the Rams would have a 73-yard kickoff return late in the game to close out the scoring on the night.

"We'll enjoy this one, the seniors in their last home game, but they know we will have to start preparing for Springfield," Yeagley remarked. "It was another good victory for those kids. It's a special night, senior night, last home game ever. They really pulled together. This is a big game for us, and they played probably the best football they have all year."

Next Friday South Range plays at rival Springfield, while Mineral Ridge returns home to face Lisbon.